Trade in INR begins for neighbouring countries

New Delhi: The government has started trade in the rupee with neighbouring countries, including Nepal and Bhutan, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said a significant part of the India-Nepal trade is being carried out in Indian Rupee (INR) and all bilateral trade with Bhutan is also transacted entirely in INR.

“Rupee trade mechanism has been initiated to facilitate trade in national currency with Russia. As of July 2, RBI has approved 34 applications from different Russian banks for opening SRVA in 14 Indian commercial banks,” the minister said in a written reply. RBI has issued guidelines for opening Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA) by foreign banks in Indian commercial banks. She said Sri Lanka has included INR in its list of designated foreign currencies.